


This Is How It All Ends

by bklue18



Category: American Actor RPF, Real Person Fiction
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2017-06-22
Packaged: 2018-07-28 15:49:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7647181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bklue18/pseuds/bklue18
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was an ordinary train ride from Boston to DC until something horrid happens on board, threatening the lives of the other passengers. A lock-down happens an hour into the ride, cutting off access to the other cabins. </p><p>Will that keep them safe till they reach their destination? Or does that make them vulnerable?</p><p>(Inspired by the movie trailer for Train to Busan)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Not A Figment of Your Imagination

She boarded the 9.30pm train a half an hour early at the South Station in Boston. Finding a suitable spot for herself, she sat by the window, throwing her bag down on the aisle seat next to her. She looked out the window, replaying the evening's event before she left for the station.

* * *

The evening would have been like any other; except, she had been invited to an ex-boyfriend's wedding.

They've been broken up for about a year and agreed to remain friends. But it was always hard to maintain a friendship with an ex, especially when they were your first love.

"Jasmine." Her ex-boyfriend said, eyes lighting up the moment he saw her.

She smiled. "Hey Riker."

"I was afraid you weren't going to come." He said, giving her a hug.

She stiffened a little as he wrapped his arms around her back. Sensing the tension, Riker hurriedly broke the hug.

She awkwardly smiled at him. "Um, yeah... I said I wouldn't miss it. Besides, gotta see who the unlucky girl is right?"

Riker laughed. "Well, thank you for coming. Natalie and I are rather nervous. She's afraid she'll trip and I'm afraid I'll mess   
up my vows."

Jasmine looked at him. "You'll do fine."

Riker smiled. "Thank you."

* * *

Watching them exchange their vows would have been a painful process but after having seen Riker standing happily anxious at the altar and his bride happily anxious to get to him, she felt all sense of awkwardness leave her.

It was as if that moment had snapped her out of her long-induced loss-of-a-first-love withdrawal disorder. These two were more meant to be for each other than she would ever have been for Riker. She couldn't see herself moving out of her life in New York just for him in Boston. She could never do what Natalie did.   
  
Shaking her head slightly, she got up from her seat and headed out the church doors. She wrote an additional apology note on the guest book and hailed a cab for the train station.

* * *

So, here she was, half an hour early on a train back to her life in New York. Now that she's finally moved pass the emotional block of her life, she was ready to start anew. She'd probably let her colleagues sign her up on Match.com, OkCupid or e-harmony. Heck, she might even let her friend create a Tinder profile for her!

Oh-wait. No, scratch that. Definitely not Tinder. She's comfortable with having a dating profile online but she wasn't _THAT_ comfortable.

She chuckled slightly at her internal conversation in her mind, as she reached over to pull out a book. Just as she was about to begin reading, she heard sniffles coming from behind her. Curious, she stood up to look for the source.

There were several seats taken with a couple of passengers talking quietly or sleeping. She spotted a young boy about 10, looking out the window and wiping his eyes every few seconds. Though he was seated 2 rows behind her, Jasmine could tell he had been crying. Putting her book down on the table in front of the seat her bag was on, she got up and walked over to the boy.

"Hi." She said. "Mind if I sit here with you for a sec?"

He didn't respond and taking it as a sign, she sat down next to him.

"I'm Jasmine." She said. "And, I know you must be feeling scared to be taking the train alone at night... My parents did the same to me when I was your age."

He stopped looking out the window and turned to look at her. "They did?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I was so scared, they had to stop the train shortly after it left the station."

"Why?" He asked.  
"I was screaming really loudly and I may have accidentally punched the train conductor." She replied.

The boy laughed. "Did you get in trouble?"

"Thankfully no." She said. "The train conductor was really nice. He knew I was scared so he kept coming by to check on me and he'd sneak me ice cream and snacks from the cafe in the first cabin."

She tilted her head slightly. "Look, I may not be a train conductor, but I definitely know how it feels to be traveling alone at your age. Just know that if you're feeling scared or need someone to talk to, I'll be 2 seats ahead of you. All you gotta do is holler for me, okay?"

The boy nodded. "Okay. My name's Zachariah, by the way."

She smiled and ruffled the hair on his head. "Nice to meet you, Zachariah. You should dry your eyes and get some sleep, okay? The train ride will be over before you know it."

He nodded and got comfortable as Jasmine left him to head back to her seat. She was all excited to get started on her new book when she noticed someone occupying her space.

She cleared her voice and the guy looked up at her. He had on a pair of glasses but even with that she could see his clear blue eyes that distracted her for a bit. Not to mention, there was also something familiar about this guy.

"Sorry, did you need something?" He asked.

She shook her head, snapping out of her thoughts. "Uh, no-I mean yes. You're-uh-sitting in my seat?"

"Your seat?" He said.  
"Yeah, I didn't think it was a full train so I left my bag on the aisle seat but the window seat was where I had been sitting." She said.  
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know." He said.

He moved to get up, picking up his MacBook that sat on the table. Jasmine took a quick glance at the next row on the other   
side of the aisle to see the seats fully occupied. The seats opposite them were also occupied. Figuring she shouldn't make things difficult, she stopped him.

"Hey-wait-It's okay." She said. "You can stay where you are. I have no use for 2 seats anyway and you clearly require the use of the table."

"You sure? I can just go to the next cabin." He said.

She nodded. "Don't worry about it."

He smiled gratefully. "Thank you. But, I insist on swapping with you since the window seat was your original pick."

She shook her head. "And I insist you stay in your seat. I've got to keep an eye on a 10-year old anyway. The aisle seat works for me."

"Okay." He said.

She picked up her backpack and put it on the table as she sat down. Jasmine was just about to open up her book when she saw the guy looking up at the couple that were directly opposite them. He gave them a polite smile which made the two of them flush in excitement.

The guy half of the couple cleared his throat and whispered across the table. "I'm sorry to bother you... But... Are you Chris Pine?"

Wait-What?

Jasmine took in his side profile and mentally smacked herself in the head. No wonder he looked so familiar!

She took a peek at his expression and was relieved he didn't make a big deal out of it. She's seen a couple of obnoxious celebrities on the streets of New York before and would have voluntarily smacked Mr Pine if he got smug.

"Yeah. That's me." He said.  
"Oh. I loved your portrayal of Kirk in Star Trek." The guy fan said.

Chris smiled. "Thank you. That means a lot to me. I'm always trying to make the Trekkies proud."

"Oh-I loved you in Princess Diaries 2." said the female fan opposite them. "You were so dreamy."

Chris chuckled shyly. "I wasn't known back then since that was feature film debut so thank you for saying that."

The couple both smiled widely and turned to each other to continue their private conversation. Jasmine tried to go back to reading but the fan girl part of her was getting excited at the prospect of sitting next to Chris Pine for the next 5 hours.

Not able to resist saying something, she turned to him. "I thought you've got some comedic chops in you. Your role in Horrible Bosses 2 was pretty funny."

He turned to her. "Thanks. It was one of my favorite movies to film."

They both exchanged a small smile and Jasmine hurriedly turned back to her book when she felt her cheeks turn warm.

* * *

She opened her eyes and immediately sat up straight when she realized she had just dozed off on her famous neighbor's shoulders. He himself had fallen asleep, as did the couple opposite them, so she was able to save herself the embarrassment. She looked at her surroundings and found some other passengers who were still awake. She looked at her   
watch, expecting an hour to have passed but it was only 10.15pm.

About 45 minutes had just passed. They must have been been moving away from the Providence, Rhode Island station, where they picked up the next group of passengers. Figuring she should check on Zachariah, she stood up and turned around. Instead of seeing his head from where she was standing, she saw him standing by the cabin door. He thought of calling his name but seeing that there were people asleep, she decided not to.

Instead, she walked over to him.

"Hey kiddo." Jasmine said. "Whatcha doin' here?"

He didn't look at her, nor did he answer.

She looked through the window to the other cabin, wondering what he was so fixated with.

"Are you spying on someone?" Jasmine asked, trying to pick out what he had been looking at.

Zachariah shook his head. "No-Not really... Just wondering why that lady over there looks weird."  
  
Following the direction he was pointing at, her eyes found a lady who seemed to be looking paler by the minute. It could have been the lighting but even that couldn't really explain the draining color.

Shrugging, Jasmine said, "That lady is probably not feeling well or, maybe, trains make her nervous." 

She turned to look at him. "You should be getting some shut-eye instead of solving this mystery."

"Something's wrong." He said. "I think she's been bitten by something."

She chuckled at his grim expression. "Kiddo, I think you've been reading or watching too much of The Walking Dead."

"Look over there." He said, pointing at another person. "I've been watching him too... Unlike that lady, he's been twitching a lot. It's weird."

"He's probably got a nervous tick." Jasmine said.

Zachariah shook his head. "No, it's definitely something else... Something bad."

"Kiddo. Perhaps you-"

Before she could finish her sentence, loud screams pierced the silence of the train. Jasmine looked up and felt her throat dry up.

In the cabin before her, passengers leapt up from their seats and were frantically screaming. She couldn't really see what was happening until she spotted the woman she had seen earlier sink her teeth into another man's arm. The man who had been twitching was now stuffing another man's guts into his mouth. All of a sudden, the calm cabin exploded into one of chaos.

Passengers from Jasmine and Zachariah's cabin were now fully awake and standing behind them at the door, watching in horror. No one was able to move.

Jasmine spotted several passengers running towards the door which led to the cabin, which they were in. One man managed to get through first, and Jasmine instinctively pushed Zachariah behind her. Some thought she was going to lock the door but when she moved to open the door, many started to protest in fright.  
  
"No! You can't do that!"  
"You don't know what's happening over there!"  
  
Ignoring their protests, she was held the door open with her shoulder as she extended a helping hand to the man. "Hurry!"

He grabbed a hold of her hand and she pulled. She just about succeeded when an automated voice came blaring out of the speakers.

"This is an announcement. The emergency lock-down has been initiated. Please be warned that all cabin doors will be locked until we've arrived at the next station where assistance will be available. Passengers, please stand clear of the doors."

In their haste to get out, the passengers from the other cabin started to push and the man fell, his grip slipping out of   
Jasmine's. Before she could do anything else, a pair of strong arms pulled her back in, just as the doors slammed shut.

She felt something wet spray across her face and shirt. She reached up to touch her cheek before looking down. Blood had splattered across her chest in bright red.

Jasmine didn't know how to react. She kept blinking and felt tears leaving her eyes. She felt the same pair of hands lead her away from the door just as the other passengers gathered round it. Some shrieked and covered their eyes while others shook their heads as they cried.

* * *

She didn't know where they were going until she felt someone sit her down on a hard surface. From what she could make out in her stunned state of mind, they were in the cabin's washroom.

She looked down at her shirt again.

Realizing what it was, she began to try get the blood off it. She balled her fists up and started to rub the fabric-covered part of both hands together. Her hands were starting to bruise up from the friction and death grip when the hands appeared again.

"Hey, hey, hey-stop."

She showed no signs of stopping until he physically brought the action to a close with his hands on top of hers. Jasmine looked up to see the calming blue eyes of Chris looking back at her.

"We're going to get you cleaned up, okay?" Chris said.

Jasmine merely looked at him as he continued to hold onto her hands.

He turned away from her. "Hey, kid, you know where she was sitting right?"

Zachariah nodded.

"Good. Go get me a clean shirt from her bag." He said.

As soon as Zachariah ran off, Chris turned back to Jasmine. "We're going to get the blood off you, alright?"

She nodded and Chris helped her to stand up as he led her over to the sink where he turned on the tap. The water washed away the blood that had stained her hands and noticing that her hands were shaking, he helped to dry them with the paper towels.

He sat her back down on the toilet seat cover and tears started to fall again. "I could have saved him."

"It wasn't your fault." Chris said. "You tried your best."

Just then, Zachariah came in with a new shirt from Jasmine's bag. He handed it to her and she gave him a small but grateful smile. Chris stood up and lightly pushed Zachariah out.

"We'll leave you to get changed."

 


	2. Houston, We Have A Problem.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was an ordinary train ride from Boston to DC until something horrid happens on board, threatening the lives of the other passengers. A lock-down happens an hour into the ride, cutting off access to the other cabins.
> 
> Will that keep them safe till they reach their destination? Or does that make them vulnerable?
> 
> (Inspired by the movie Train to Busan)

After changing into the new shirt that Zachariah brought her, she sat back down on the toilet seat cover and closed her eyes. She had hoped it was all a bad dream and when she woke up, everything was fine again. But her brain was telling her another story.

Her eyes opened and she stared blankly at the blood-stained shirt on her lap. She tried to recall the scene before she got pulled away even though everything happened so fast. She could only remember seeing the man on the floor when the doors slammed shut, and the blood splatter she received.

What happened to the man? Had the door sliced through him, killing him? Or did he just lose an arm? What about the people that were pushing him? Were they stuck inside that cabin or were they stuck in that small space between the two doors?

Were they all dead?

A light tap from the outside of the door brought Jasmine out of her head. She blinked, not realizing that she had started to cry.

"You okay inside?"

She hurriedly stood up, cleaning the tear tracks with the back of her hand. "Y-Yeah."

Chris opened the door and he looked at the bloodied shirt balled up in her hands. "I'm going to get rid of this now, alright?"

Jasmine nodded and passed the shirt to him. Chris opened up a plastic bag he obtained from a fellow passenger, and threw the shirt in. He then tied a knot before tossing it into the bin by the corner.

"Uh-W-Where's Zachariah?" She asked.

"I've got someone keeping an eye on him for a while." Chris replied. "Unless you want me to get him?"

She shook her head. "No... It's fine. I'm probably not a good example of composure right now."

He was about to continue when he looked at her. "Do you mind taking off your glasses?"

She frowned in confusion. "What? Why?"

"You've got blood on your glasses and your face." Chris said. "Just in case you didn't notice."

She hadn't noticed.

She took her glasses off and moved to wash them under the water at the sink. She pulled out the paper towels and wiped her glasses dry. As she was about to put her glasses back onto her face, Chris stopped her.

He reached over to wipe the blood stains off her cheek, which caught her off guard.

She felt her cheeks start to warm and hurriedly took the wet tissue from him. "Thanks-I can take it from here."

He nodded and passed her the tissue as she picked up where Chris stopped. Once she was done, she crumpled the tissue in her hand and looked at Chris. "Did they survive?"

"Who?" Chris asked.  
"Those people from the other cabin." Jasmine replied.

"Yes and no." He said. "The door closed on most of them but there were 2 stuck in that small corridor. We manually opened the door to let them in."

"The man?" She said.

Chris shook his head. "He didn't make it. The door closed at the time when he was on the ground... The impact of the door-"

He was finding it hard to go on. It was definitely not something to describe to someone who had just tried to save the person he was talking about.

"If only I had pulled him over quickly... Maybe he wouldn't be dead." Jasmine said.  
"It isn't your fault. There were just too many people trying to get through. You did the best you could." Chris said.

He leaned against the sink. "Your son is lucky to have a mother like you."

"Son?" She said.

Realizing that he's talking about Zachariah, Jasmine laughed softly. "He isn't my son. He's a kid I just met who's traveling alone to DC."

"Oh." Chris said. "I thought-Sorry."

She gave him a small smile. "It's okay."

He smiled back and Jasmine couldn't help but get lost in the blue of his eyes until Zachariah appeared at the door.

"You need to see this."

* * *

"...with reports coming in from all over the country, the police are advising everyone to stay indoors while investigations are on-going."

"It's a zombie apocalypse!" said a dark-haired woman with a ponytail. "There's no need to investigate! We should just go get guns and shoot all of them!"

"Lady, calm down." An African-American man said. "We don't even know the whole story. And besides, this isn't The Walking Dead. It could just be a reversible biochemical disease."

"Like hell!" Dark-haired ponytail replied. "Do the people in the next cabin look like they have a disease?"

Jasmine walked until she was in the middle of the cabin. She willed herself to get closer but she just couldn't do it.

The cabin glass had blood smeared all over and with their faces pressed against the door were the other passengers. But they no longer looked like they were before. Chunks of skin were missing from some while others seem to have a bloodied mouth. The only things they all have in common were the dead look in their eyes and the incessant pounding against the cabin door.

"Someone get that girl away from their line of sight!" A blond woman with wavy curls said. "She's going to make them break that door!"

Jasmine heard the warning from behind her but she just couldn't move. She tried to make herself move and thought she had succeeded, only to realize she was being led away by Chris.

He led her towards an 2 empty seats and looked at her. "Are you okay?"

"All those people-" She tried to finish what she was saying only to get interrupted by the news broadcasting in the television above them.

"Reports are coming in that this vicious attack has broken out in major cities and small towns around the United States. The Police and the Army have been deployed to the respective locations to contain the situation. The President has also issued a state of emergency. Everyone is strongly advised to remain indoors until further notice."

"Like we can go anywhere else!" Dark-haired ponytail said.

Just then, a voice spoke through the speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please-This train will be going right through Connecticut as we head for Penn Station in New York."

"What!" Blond wavy curls exclaimed. "I'm supposed to be going back to Stamford!"

"We are sorry for any inconvenience caused."

Blond wavy curls narrowed her eyes and walked over to the intercom by the cabin door. She pressed the red button by the corner and waited for someone to pick up on the other end.

"Hi there, this is Amy speaking. How can I help you?"  
  
"Yeah, hi. I'm Bridgette from cabin 19. I'd like to know why we're skipping the Connecticut stops? I have to get back to school."  
  
"I'm sorry Miss Bridgette, but we've been told to go straight to Penn station."  
  
"Without an explanation?"  
  
"I'm not at liberty to divulge the reason, miss."

Dark-haired ponytail walked over and pushed Blond wavy curls aside.

"Yeah-hi-this is Renee from cabin 19. What do you mean you are not at liberty to divulge? The whole country is under siege from a zombie attack! We should not be kept in the dark! You better tell us what's going on!"  
  
"Uh-I-I'm really sorry Miss Renee, but I've been told not to say anything."  
  
"Then find someone who will give you the information, Amy! We have a right to know what the hell is going on."  
  
"I-I-"

"It's alright Amy. I'll take it from here."

Everyone in cabin 19 looked at each other.

"Hi Renee? This is Jimmy. I'm the train conductor and person-in-charge. I understand that some of you might be heading home to Connecticut and I am sorry but we were told by HQ not to say a word."

Renee clenched her fist in frustration. "Look-for all we know, your HQ has already found ways to flee the country leaving you and the rest of Amtrak's workers to fend for yourselves. We've seen the news and there's shit going on out there. You'd be doing all of us a favor by telling us the real reason why we're skipping Connecticut."

"Renee, I-"

"Connecticut's been cordoned off by the CDC and the military!"

"Amy!"  
  
"We shouldn't keep this from them, Jimmy!"

Bridgette frowned. "Wh-What do you mean cordoned off?"

"They were the first city to fall. The military has set the stations on fire to prevent the disease from spreading. All trains were told to go right through so that they do not need to get quarantined upon arrival."

Everyone in cabin 19 fell silent, processing what they just heard.

"Wait a minute, what do you mean by that?"

Bridgette and Renee turned to see Jasmine standing behind them.

"I'm sorry?"  
  
"What do you mean the trains don't need to get quarantined?"  
  
"As long as the passengers hadn't been exposed to the disease, they will be led to a safe camp. Otherwise, they'll be detained and brought to the quarantine zone."  
  
"Could you define what exposure to the disease means? Is it biological contact or?"

Jimmy sighed. "We've been told that as long as there's one infected aboard, it's exposure."

Everyone turned to look at cabin 20, the last passenger car, where the undead passengers were feverishly pounding the door with their palms, trying to get out.

Renee cleared her throat as she continued to stare. "I-I think that's going to be a problem Jimmy."


	3. Temporary Solution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was an ordinary train ride from Boston to DC until something horrid happens on board, threatening the lives of the other passengers. A lock-down happens an hour into the ride, cutting off access to the other cabins.
> 
> Will that keep them safe till they reach their destination? Or does that make them vulnerable?
> 
> (Inspired by the movie trailer for Train to Busan)

Renee was just about to continue talking when Bridgette pushed her slightly, affecting her balance and her hold on the intercom button.

Once she regained her bearings, Renee gave Bridgette an incredulous stare. "What the hell is your problem?!"

"What the hell is YOUR problem?" Bridgette exclaimed. "You were just about to screw all of us over with your fucking honesty!"

"And why is that a problem?" The African-American man said.

She turned to stare at him. "One fucking word from her and she'll be signing all of our death warrants."

"I'm sure that's not what will happen, honey." An elderly lady said. "The government will just put us in quarantine and we'll be fine."

"You don't understand!" Bridgette shouted.

Seeing how everyone seemed to be ganging up on Bridgette, Chris stepped in. "Okay, then enlighten us. Why shouldn't we tell Jimmy about cabin 20?"

She looked at everyone before looking at Chris. "Because, they won't keep us in the quarantine zone. They'll confine us in some sort of death camp and run tests on us."

Renee scoffed. "Seriously? We're going to listen to this paranoid girl?"

"I'm not paranoid." She answered. "My father's a military man. He suffered from PTSD after he was honorably discharged from the Army."

"You mean-"

Bridgette closed her eyes to compose herself before she continued. "My father's squad had come into contact with someone who was biochemically infected. They were not within touching distance but the Army still sent them to quarantine confinement. They ran tests and pushed the squad to their limits. Some died as a result of the vigorous testing while others, like my father, suffered from the haunting experience."

She sniffed. "He was never the same again."

Bridgette looked fiercely at everyone. "So, if you want to tell Jimmy about cabin 20, you're going to sign yourselves up voluntarily for an unimaginable experience that will scar you or worse, kill you."

Fervent whispers started around the cabin as everyone took in what Bridgette had told them. Many who were unafraid of honesty suddenly looked unsure of their decision to tell the truth.

Renee swallowed. "Okay, even if we don't tell Jimmy about this, we can't hide the fact that we have a cabin full of infected people on board this train."

"So what do we do now?" An elderly woman said.

Just then, they heard Jimmy on the other line.

"Hello? Anyone there? I think we were cut off or something."

Everyone looked at one another. Whatever it was, the entire train was doomed for. There was absolutely no way of dodging that bullet. Renee went towards the intercom and hit the button.

"Jimmy, we have a problem. Cabin 20's full of infected passengers."  
"What?!"

Renee winced at the screech she just heard, which no doubt came from Amy.

"What-What do you mean Cabin 20's full of infected passengers?"

Renee looked around, hoping to get some inspiration on the answer she had to give. Jasmine moved towards Renee and spoke on her behalf.

"There had been passengers on board who were already infected. The door alarm was triggered when the attack happened."  
"Are-Are you saying that we're carrying the infection in Cabin 20?"  
"Yes."

Everyone waited with bated breath as Jimmy's end went quiet.

"Has anyone of you been in contact with the infected?"  
"No."  
"Okay. Then we're going to have to fix this problem before we arrive at Penn Station."

* * *

 

As soon as Renee lifted her finger off the button, she turned to look at the other faces of those in the cabin. Despite what Bridgette had told them, they knew this wasn't something they could hide.

_'...as long as there's one infected aboard, it's exposure'_

Even if they didn't tell Jimmy, the military personnel at Penn would have noticed the last cabin when they pulled in. How were they going to hide that?

"We can all agree that even after what Blondie here told us, there was not any other way around this, right?" Renee said.

She could see slow nods around and Bridgette sitting down in defeat. Just as Renee was about to continue talking, she and the other passengers in her cabin started to feel the train slowing to a stop.

"Wait-are we stopping?" The elderly woman said.  
"Looks like it." The African-American man replied as he looked out the window.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we do apologize for the slight delay that you are experiencing. In a minute, the locked doors will be disengaged and we urge that you do not step out and immediately lock the doors for your own safety. Thank you."

Upon hearing the announcement, Renee ran towards the door facing Cabin 20.

"Wait, I thought the lock mechanism had already been disengaged previously." Jasmine said.

"We did." The African-American man said. "But these locks are different. Even after you manually disengage them, when returned to their original position, they will follow the original instructions given to them."

He looked at Jasmine. "I studied mechanical engineering. Name's Daniel."

"Nice to meet you Daniel." Jasmine said.

"Um, I'm going to need some help here." Renee said.

Jasmine, Chris and Daniel hurried over to her. Both men held the door close while Renee and Jasmine readied themselves to manually lock the door.

Almost instantly the train stopped, everyone heard the click of the doors that indicated the unlocked doors. There was a brief moment of silence before they heard the sound from Cabin 20 get louder. Renee and Jasmine looked at each other as they hurriedly got to work, locking the door in place.

Renee just about pulled the lock in place when a hand smacked against the glass panel, shocking the four of them at the door. A lone infected had gotten clear of the glass door and was gnashing his teeth against the glass panel right in front of them.

The four of them stepped back just as they heard a sharp intake of breath behind them.

"So it's true."

They turned to see a man in his 50s looking at the infected behind them.

"Are you Jimmy?" Renee asked.  
"Yes." He replied.

Bridgette stood up. "Why did you stop the train?"

"Because for the safety of my passengers, I need to get rid of that cabin." He said, staring intently at cabin 20.

"How are you going to do that?" Renee asked.

"By first moving all of you to cabin 18." He said. "The train has 22 cabins, inclusive of the staff quarters and train controls."

He continued. "Every pair of cabins are held together. In order to get rid of cabin 20, cabin 19 has to go too."

"How do you propose that be done?"

Jasmine looked at the voice and recognized him as the guy she had been sitting opposite.

"There's a way for us to disconnect the train carriages." Jimmy said. "I'll need 3 volunteers to assist."

"I'll go." Jasmine said.  
"Me too." Chris said.  
"And me." Daniel said.

Jasmine looked at Renee. "Could you keep an eye on that boy for me?"

Renee looked to see Zachariah sitting and staring out the window. She nodded. "Sure."

Jasmine smiled. "Thanks."

As the three of them got off the train with Jimmy, the others in Cabin 19 packed up their belongings and moved into cabin 18.

* * *

 

"Okay, so how do we do this?" Daniel asked.

"First, we have to break the connection between the carriages by dislodging the two sides. Then, we remove the central electrical connection and we are good to go." Jimmy replied.

He looked at Chris and Jasmine. "I'll need the two of you to help with the dislodging on the other side."

He pointed at Daniel. "You help me out here."

Chris nodded and started moving alongside cabin 20 to get to the other side. As they walked, they heard loud thuds as the infected all flock to the window. The sound of their teeth gnashing together almost gave pause to Jasmine's walk but knowing the laws of gravity, she needed to get out of sight quick in case the cabin tips over.

She hurriedly followed after Chris and nearly bumped into him as he stopped at the back of the train.

He looked at her. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm good. Not quite the adventure I had expected when I went to my ex's wedding."

Chris chuckled a little. "It's nice to see you back to normal."

She rolled her eyes. "We're in a crisis, Mr Hollywood Star - I have to get with the program."

Jasmine took the tool from Chris' hand and immediately regretted as she felt the weight pull the tool toward the ground.

He quickly took hold of the handle. "I've got it, tough lady."

As she was trying her hardest not to let him think she couldn't carry it, she tried to hold on. But figuring this wasn't the time and place to do it, she let it go. Not wanting to see what Chris' reaction was, she quickly made her way to where the connection for the carriages were. Chris smiled to himself, amused with Jasmine's behavior. Though it may be cliche to think it, this was the first girl he's met who hadn't behaved awkwardly around him.

But then again, they were living a post-apocalyptic scenario.


	4. Close Calls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was an ordinary train ride from Boston to DC until something horrid happens on board, threatening the lives of the other passengers. A lock-down happens an hour into the ride, cutting off access to the other cabins.
> 
> Will that keep them safe till they reach their destination? Or does that make them vulnerable?
> 
> (Inspired by the movie trailer for Train to Busan)

"And... We're good to go!"

Chris, Daniel and Jasmine watched as Jimmy detached the connecting wire with that of the cabin they were trying to get rid off. All the adrenaline and temporary relief of finding the solution to their problem had given Jasmine a moment to forget her surroundings.

She stepped away from the group for a breather and glanced towards the cabin at the end. The banging had stopped while they remained out of view but now that she was in their line of sight, the fervorous banging sounded again.

While she had learnt to not let it bother her, there was something unusual about the way the sounds were heard. It was slightly louder than before. She walked up a few steps and squinted at the last cabin.

Noticing her not by his side, Chris walked up to her. "What's wrong?"

Almost instantly, Jasmine's face grew pale. "We need to go. Now."

Confused, Chris looked to where she was looking and it took him only a second to spot the crack in the window pane.

They hurried back to Daniel and Jimmy. "We need to go. Come on."

Jimmy frowned a little. "What's going on?"

"The window." Jasmine said. "It's breaking."

"Holy shit." Jimmy said.

As the four of them hurriedly picked up the tools strewn all over the ground, they heard the dreaded sound of the glass pane breaking and the thump of something heavy on the ground. Jasmine willed herself to look up and as she saw the writhing body on the ground, she looked back at the others.

"Run."

Not needing to be told twice, they dropped the tools they were holding and headed for the back of cabin 18. As if knowing that their preys were getting away, the infected from cabin 20 started dropping out of the window. Regaining their balance quick, they focused on the four who were struggling to get up the stairs as fast as they could.

Daniel scrambled up first followed by Jimmy. They helped Jasmine and Chris up just as the first escapee from the infected cabin came running straight for Chris. He missed just as they pulled Chris up but that didn't mean they were completely safe.

The four of them stood on the platform of cabin 18 and looked on curiously as the infected stood where he was staring straight ahead. He fidgeted in his spot, making no effort to move even when he could get them by just climbing up the stairs. Surprisingly, the other infected who had fallen out of the broken window hadn't caught up with the first either. Jasmine quietly leaned backwards with the railing as her support to peer at the other straggling bodies. They were doing the same thing.

She looked at the others and mouthed. ' _We need to distract him away from the stairs._ '

The men nodded in agreement. Jasmine looked around until her eyes landed on a flashlight in Daniel's hand. She pointed at the flashlight and he gave it to her. She slowly made her way to the railing before the stairs and held her breath as she stood mere inches away from the infected man. Quietly, she drew her hand back and flicked the 'on' button before tossing the flashlight as far as she could into the forest.

As if smelling the inanimate prey, the infected man raced turned and raced toward the bouncing beam of light and as they heard the group from cabin 20 start racing for the same goal, Jimmy yanked open the connecting door of cabin 18 and let the other 3 in after him before locking the door tight.

"Are you okay?" Chris asked Jasmine.

She let out a sigh of relief and nodded. "Yeah."

"Great toss, Jasmine." Daniel said.

She gave him a small smile just as Zachary leapt up from his seat to give her a hug. Though surprised at receiving this from a boy she hardly knew, she still returned the hug.

"What was that?" A woman with pink streaks in her hair asked. "Is that what we saw on the news? We had those on board?!"

"Oh God." A middle-aged woman said.

Jimmy walked toward the front to easily address the whole of cabin 18. "Everyone, please, calm down. Yes, we did have an unfortunate incident with cabin 20 but please be rest assured that no one from cabin 19 had direct contact with those that were infected."

"Now that we've successfully detached cabin 19 and 20, we will be able to go on to Penn Station."

Everyone let out a sigh of relief as they relaxed in their positions.

"So, everyone just sit tight and we will be at Penn station soon."

Just as Jimmy was about to leave the cabin for his trek back to the control room, Renee stopped him.

"Wait. We can't just leave like that right?" She asked.

Jasmine looked at her and instantly knew what she was talking about. Given the speed that the train might take and the speed of those infected, they might get a few stragglers on board.

"Renee's right. The stairs are a problem." Jasmine said. "Once they hear the sound of the train leaving, they'll come back here. We can risk having one of them get onto the platform."

Everyone nodded and voiced their agreement. Jimmy shook his head, "Don't worry. The stairs are automated by the controls. Once I start moving, the stairs will be lifted upright and fitted into the space it had vacated."

"That solves one problem." Renee said. "So what about the crazy ass speed they run with? Can the train be faster than them?"

For once, Jimmy was unsure. Chris thought for a bit and said, "Do you have any tools that are large enough for us to use?"

"What do you mean?" Jimmy asked.

Daniel turned to Chris. "Are you referring to an axe or something?"

Chris nodded. Jimmy thought for a bit and walked to the back of the cabin where an emergency panel can be seen. He pulled open the door and fished out a key from his pocket before picking up a fire-axe. He showed it to Chris. "Something like this?"

"Yes." Chris said.

"What are you going to do with it?" Bridgette asked.  
"He's suggesting that we be the prevention for the stragglers." Jasmine replied.

Chris looked at her and smiled a little, amazed that she understood his thought process even before he said it.

"Well, I'm not going out there," said a man with blond-hair. "It's suicide."

Renee rolled her eyes. "Well, nobody asked you. I'll go out there with Mr Hollywood. Anyone else?"

"I'll go." Jasmine said.  
"Me too." Daniel said.

"How are you 3 going to fight them off without any weapon?" Bridgette asked.

Renee smiled. "Well, I can use this."

She picked up a crowbar from the panel. "That just leaves you two."

A teenage boy who looked about 18 got up from his seat and reached up to the overhead luggage compartment to pull out a baseball bat. He handed it to Jasmine. "You can use this. I won the match with this so it should be good for helping with those things."

Jasmine smiled. "Thanks."

The woman with pink streaks in her hair walked up to Daniel and handed him a golf club. "I stole this from my ex-husband before I left him. It's supposed to be his prized possession but feel free to use it however you want."

Daniel held it awkwardly. "Uh.. sure... thank you."

Jimmy passed Chris the fire-axe and walked toward the front. "I'll head to the control room and you 4 head out the back when the stairs is back in position.. That's when you know the train's about to move."

The four of them nodded. Jasmine gripped the bat tightly in her hand as she thought about what she just signed up for. Even if she were to argue that it was the adrenaline taking control, she knew her decision wasn't based solely on that.

She turned to Zachary. "Hey bud, stay in here, yeah? I'll be back."

Zachary nodded, confident that she'd keep her word. She smiled at him just as Chris said, "Let's go."

The four of them headed out while Jimmy made his way back to the front of the train. Renee looked at Bridgette who nodded and proceeded to lock the door behind them. This was a preventive measure to protect the others in case the four of them didn't make it.

They waited outside for a good 5 mins before they noticed the stairs moving back to it's stationary position.

"Get ready, guys." Renee said.

Renee and Jasmine stood directly in view of the forest while Chris and Daniel took the sides. When the train started making it's loud warm-up, there was no sign of any infected around. Only when they started to move did Daniel spot the first infected racing toward them.

"OVER THERE!" Daniel exclaimed.

The infected almost reached the railing before them when Renee swung her crowbar directly into his head. The object connected with the infected's head in a sickening sound that caused Daniel to lose the grip on his golf club. Seeing him falter, Renee yelled, "Don't go soft on me now, Daniel. It's us against them."

Affirmed, Daniel nodded and gripped the club tightly as he swung it hard; dislodging an incoming infected's outstretched arm from its socket. While they hurriedly fend off the infected group they lured away previously, they didn't notice another group coming from the other side of the forest behind them.

Spotting the group, the girl with pink streaks in her hair and Bridgette started slamming the doors loudly.

"Guys!" They yelled, "THE OTHER SIDE!"

Chris and Jasmine both turned to see an infected woman with her hand gripped onto the railing. He hurried over and swung his axe, severing the hand from its wrist but it wasn't enough to deter the infected from using her other hand. Just as Chris was about to swing again, Jasmine came up from behind him and landed a forceful and direct blow with her baseball bat onto the top of the woman's head. The infected stopped short of her actions and landed on the ground with a thud.

Jasmine blinked once as she felt her body slowly registering what she had just done. The flashback of her not being able to save the man came back to haunt her as she looked at her bloodied bat. Despite Chris swinging away to prevent them from approaching, he noticed Jasmine freezing up on him.

He looked at her. "Hey-Hey... Jas - don't space out on me."

Vaguely hearing him through her haze, she looked up at him. She felt momentarily unable to hear as she watched Chris mouth words to her as he toggled between looking at her and swinging his weapon into an incoming body.

She frowned a little as he yelled, "JASMINE! I NEED YOUR HELP!"

As if she's hearing for the first time again, she snapped out of her self-induced trance and straightened as she turned to look straight at the infected who were attempting to breach the gap. She swung her bat hard, hitting a few off balance just as the train began to pick up speed.

They stepped back to the center of the platform as they watched the trees whiz by, leaving behind the remaining infected who were no longer motivated to run since the sound got farther and farther away.

They all heaved a sigh of relief as Bridgette slid open the door to cabin 18 for them. They proceeded to walk in when Jasmine stayed where she was.

"I need a minute." She said.

Renee nodded and Jasmine turned around to face the back. She heard the door click close as she watched the infected walk around slowly in their spots from afar.

"What happened back there?"

She jumped and turned around to see Chris standing behind her. "Shit! You scared me."

"Sorry..." He said. "Perhaps you could put that away?"

Jasmine looked at where Chris was staring and only realized that her hands were instinctively raised with the bloodied baseball bat. "Oh-sorry."

She lowered her hands and placed the bat beside her - upright against the platform wall.

"So... Why did you freeze up?" He asked.

She sighed. "Because the blood reminded me of that guy I couldn't save in time."

"That wasn't your fault." Chris said.   
"I know. But a part of me will always be reminded that I could have saved the guy if I only tried harder." Jasmine said.

"Hey - you did." He said. "You have to remember that there were so many factors that created this outcome. It was inevitable."

"Yeah, but when I bashed that woman's head in just now... I felt how desperate I was to survive." Jasmine said. "It made me wonder if that was how I was feeling when I failed to save that guy. What if me saying I didn't have enough strength was merely a cover-up for my own self-preservation? What if I wanted to save him only on a pretence? What if I had every intention to let go and was praying for that to happen?"

"Hey, hey, hey - stop that." Chris said. "You can't let your mind do this to you. I saw how hard you tried to save him. That wasn't a pretence. You really wanted to save him. If you were in self-preservation mode, you would have just been like the others in the cabin and not open the door for him."

He looked her in the eyes. "You did. You opened that door and you reached out to him. It was of good intention."

Jasmine blinked once as she felt the words settle in her brain. They locked gaze for a few seconds more before both of them realized what they were doing and quickly changed position.

He stood upright and cleared his throat before he continued. "What you did with that woman was unfortunately a necessity. You had to stop her before she caused harm to others."

Taking in a deep breath as a recovery from letting his words sink in and almost drowning in his blue eyes, she stood up straight. "You're right."

She looked at him. "Thank you."

He smiled. "You're welcome."

"Is it weird to say I was feeling the Captain Kirk vibe when you gave your pep talk?" Jasmine teased.

He laughed. "That's a first. Wait - did it sound flirtatious?"

Jasmine laughed and shook her head. "Nice try, Mr Pine."

She picked up the baseball bat and hastily turned towards the door to cabin 18, hiding her flushed face from Chris.


End file.
